Search - John Phillips :: Many Mamas Many Papas

You Won't Believe Your Ears

Paul A. Amato | hollywood, CA, USA | 07/09/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was skeptical. There have been many attempts to release this CD. It has finally seen the light of day...and was well worth the wait. If you are a fan of the original group, you can close your eyes and just listen..you won't believe your ears. Great John Phillips compositions, but it's the harmonies that win out here. I originally didn't think Spanky Mcfarlane could pull it off..but she does, as does Mackenzie Phillips and Scott McKenzie. I downloaded the "extra" tunes from another site I can't mention here for fear of being deleted, and it is regrettable that Varese didn't include the Denny version of "Flowers" on this release, as it is far superior to their version and the highlight of the set as whole..just gorgeous. If you love the Mamas and the Papas..if you love John Phillips music..purchase now. The harmonies are just stunning. It is clear the care that went into this production. Love you, and miss you John!"

Best of the 1980's Reformed M's & P's !

Magickal Merlin | Death Valley-SoCal | 07/18/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Phillips '66 was sad to listen to.It sounded flat and spent.This cd ,'Many Mamas & Many Papas',is wonderful.It's the best of their recordings from the 1980s.I'm glad it was finally released.The Mama's and the Papa's music is the very essense of the best of 60's California pop music.If your a fan of John Phillips,Spanky MacFarland,Scott MacKenzie,Mac Phillips and Denny Doherty;this is the perfect cd collection."

John & Denny in the 80's with Harmony

gassy goon | 08/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"At long last, after more than 2 decades , the music that the original Papas, John Phillips and Denny Doherty created in the 80's with Spanky McFarlane, Mackenzie Phillips & Scott McKenzie has been released. From the first track, it is the sound of Denny's voice on the only oldie on here, the Moody Blues' GO NOW, that welcomes you to that one of a kind sound on so many original Mamas & Papas hits. Denny & John are the key members here, and their songs are the best on the new CD. It is not The Mamas & The Papas of the 60's, so if you think of it more as a new project that John & Denny were working with, it all fits together better. The harmonies & vocals are good, but Spanky & Mackenzie are not Cass & Michelle . It's contemporary for the 80's and even today. There are a bunch of styles on here, most notably some world music sounds on tracks like SHE GOT SHE [ THE GAME OF LOVE ] , KWELA [ both sung by John ] and YACHTS [ another lead by Denny ]. The different genres are most welcome , and the original material illustrates that John still had a lot of fresh ideas and songs in him. Some of the songs I had known before from hearing the new group perform them in concert in the 80's, such as BABIES , and NOT TOO COOL, one of the best group sung efforts on here. It's a dark song that offers a hint of John's years of drug abuse. He got a great song out of it with NOT TOO COOL. Spanky gets the lead on LOVE IS COMING BACK, a remake of the song on Genevieve Waite's 1974 album, done in more honky tonk style, plus another lead on FLOWERS, written by John & Genevieve. Mackenzie's LOVE SONG was very familiar as it was a live concert staple for years. The studio version is not as fully charged as it could have been. But her other song CRYING IN THE SHOWER is as bad as the title suggests, with amateurish lyrics and vocals, sounding more like a demo recording. Another song, CHINAMAN has some twee singing by Spanky & Mackenzie and is full of pretension and materialism lyrically that make it one of the lesser songs as well. Cringe worthy, almost as bad as Wilson Phillips' absolutely awful remake of Monday Monday. But John and Denny get most of the leads, which is what really matters. The original version of KOKOMO features only Denny and Scott alternating singing the verses. It's different from The Beach Boys and does not feature the chorus naming all the cities as in the hit version. It's a reminder that John could still come up with a hit. Scott gets one lead to himself, on the song, FRANKIE. John's leads are all very strong, with FAIRY TALE GIRL, LOVE LIFE and I WISH illustrating he sang more leads in the 80's than in the 60's. It's Denny's voice that is the real link to the 60's Mamas and Papas. GO NOW is as close to that sound as it gets. Just have a clear mind, and hear this music for a fresh new sound of 2 original Papas creating new music with other voices and talents. MANY MAMAS, MANY PAPAS is a title that fits this music very well.



The live CD represents the live sound of the group doing mostly the timeless Mamas and Papas hits. I , for one, was glad to have seen & heard John, Denny, Spanky & Mackenzie recreate the sound of the group in the 80's. It gave many people the chance to hear the music live at last. They did a great job of enthusiastically singing these songs. John's solo hit MISSISSIPPI sounds great as a group effort. It's John who takes the lead on SAN FRANCISCO in this acoustic version , not Scott. Spanky's performance of some of her biggest hits is joyously celebrated in an energized medley. It's fun to hear backing by John & Denny on these. It shows what a hit packed concert they did in the 80's. The ONE DAY AT A TIME theme song is even given a live performance - cheesy, but fun. At least it is an official live CD that is heard here, and not the bootleg that has been issued so many times over the last 25 years, often with the original Mamas & Papas pictured on the cover.



All in all, well worth the wait. To have two of the original Mamas & Papas, John & Denny , performing new songs , is a true gift to have at last. It's not really The Mamas & The Papas, which is why they chose not to release this CD under that history filled name. This 2 CD set, particularly the first CD of the new songs, is most welcome, and great to hear this beautiful music at last."